Religion Is Very Important to Majority of Americans

Most also attend their place of worship at least monthly

PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans' religiosity may be cloaked in
wrapping paper at this time of year, but make no mistake, religion
is very much present in American society, and an important part of
life for most U.S. adults.

Roughly 6 in 10 U.S. adults told Gallup in a Nov. 10-12 survey
that religion is "very important" in their own lives, close to
two-thirds say they are a member of a church or synagogue, and more
than 4 in 10 say they attended a church or synagogue in the past
week. There has been only slight variation in these figures over
the past two decades, and the current figures are generally in line
with Gallup's religion trends over this period.

Trends in American
Religiosity

Americans are not quite as religious today as they were up to
about 1965. Particularly in the 1950s, Americans were somewhat more
likely to consider religion very important (75% in 1952) and to
report having attended their place of worship in the past week (49%
in 1955).

Still, the latest numbers are impressive when compared with data
from two of America's closest allies: Canada and Great Britain.
According to a Gallup Poll conducted in Canada this past June, only
28% of Canadians consider religion very important to them and 26%
attended church or synagogue in the past week. Only 17% of Britons
could say the same to each question.

Importance of Religion:
International Comparison

America's Religious Makeup

The broadest Gallup indicator of religiosity in America is a
measure of religious attachment. When asked what their religious
preference is, nearly 9 in 10 Americans (89%) specify a religion or
branch of religion. Only 8% expressly say they have no religious
preference.

Christianity is the dominant religion among the public, with 85%
of Americans putting themselves in one of four Christian groups:
53% Protestant, 23% Roman Catholic, 2% Mormon, and 7% Christian
(but with no specific religious denomination). Two percent of
respondents identify with Judaism and less than half of 1% identify
as Muslim. A mix of other less prevalent or undesignated religions
makes up another 5% in the poll.

Religion Preference

2003 Nov 10-12

%

Protestant

53

Catholic

23

Jewish

2

Mormon

2

Orthodox

*

Other Christian

7

Other specific

2

None

8

Undesignated

3

Total

100%

Among U.S. Protestants, the most common denomination is Baptist,
with 20% of Americans calling themselves either Southern Baptist
(8%) or another type of Baptist (12%). Methodists, at 9%, are the
second-largest denomination, followed by other mainline Protestant
groups including Presbyterians (5%), Lutherans (4%), members of the
Church of Christ (2%), and Episcopalians (2%).

Protestant
DenominationsPercentages based on national
adults

2003 Nov 10-12

%

Other Baptist

12

Methodist

9

Southern Baptist

8

Presbyterian

5

Lutheran

4

Episcopal

2

Church of Christ

2

Pentecostal

1

Non-denominational

5

Other

5

No opinion

2

A secondary measure of church/synagogue attendance asks
Americans how often they attend their place of worship. Since
instituted in 1992, the question has produced consistent results.
The latest findings are typical, showing about a third of Americans
saying they attend church or synagogue at least once a week, 14%
attending almost every week, and another 14% attending about
monthly. Three in 10 U.S. adults say they seldom attend, while just
10% say they never attend.

How often do you attend church or synagogue -- at least once
a week, almost every week, about once a month, seldom, or
never?

Once
a week

Almost
every
week

About
once a
month

Seldom

Never

No
opinion

2003 Nov 10-12

31%

14

14

30

10

1

Women and older Americans provide the backbone for organized
religion, with both groups significantly more likely than men and
young adults to say religion is very important in their lives, and
to attend church or synagogue on a regular basis. More than
two-thirds of women (69%), but just over half of men (53%), say
religion is very important in their lives. The religiosity gap is
even larger with respect to age. Three-quarters of Americans aged
65 and older (76%), but only 48% of young adults (aged 18 to 29),
say religion is very important in their lives. Similarly, the
percentage who say they have attended church in the last seven days
rises from 32% among the youngest age group to 54% among the oldest
group.

Religiosity by Major Demographic
Groups

Religion is very
important
in own life

Attended church/
synagogue in
past week

%

%

National Adults

61

43

Men

53

37

Women

69

48

White

57

42

Nonwhite

77

47

18 to 29

48

32

30 to 49

59

40

50 to 64

63

48

65+

76

54

East

56

39

Midwest

60

42

South

73

52

West

50

35

Postgraduate education

56

45

College degree only

50

44

Some college

59

42

No college

69

42

Republican

67

51

Independent

54

35

Democrat

63

44

Protestant

65

48

Catholic

60

45

Survey Methods

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly
selected national sample of 1,004 adults, aged 18 and older,
conducted Nov. 10-12, 2003. For results based on this sample, one
can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to
sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points.
In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical
difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into
the findings of public opinion polls.

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